Paradise City (9 page)

Chapter Sixteen

I lay there, staring at the reflected glow of the streetlight that illuminated my ceiling. I closed one eye, opened it, closed it, then switched eyes in a series of blinks that turned my vision into a lightshow before growing bored and sighing into the night. Eleven minutes past eleven and I couldn’t sleep, and neither, it seemed, could my roommate, who was suddenly rustling around in the dark. I rolled over, squinting across the room at the silhouette gently opening and closing her cupboards, before walking around the bed and stubbing her toe.

‘Shit,’ she said, falling back onto the end of her bed.

I leant over, clicking on my bedside lamp and flooding the room in a shadowy light, causing us both to squint at the adjustment. Amanda looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, flinching against the unexpectedness of it. I pulled myself into a sitting position.

‘Going somewhere?’ I asked with a curious curve to my brow.

‘Shhh,’ she glowered, before standing and limping to her drawer, rummaging around and slipping some money and lip balm into the pocket of her jeans. ‘Turn the light off.’

Without fuss I clicked it off, watching on as Amanda stepped onto my bed and, without so much as a sideways glance, worked on sliding the window open.

‘Take me with you,’ I said all too quickly and all too loudly.

Amanda’s head snapped around. ‘Shut up,’ she growled, her face thunderous. ‘This doesn’t concern you.’

‘You owe me.’

‘I owe you nothing.’

‘Really? Because a week in Siberia tells me differently.’

‘I didn’t tell you to climb through a bloody window.’

‘No, you just asked me to lie to your parents about being daughter of the year.’

‘And you got your note, we’re square.’

‘Not even close.’

We stared, or rather shot laser beams, at one another with our glowering death vision, unmoving, almost unbreathing we were so still. It was obvious she was not going to give an inch, not one bit, so I was forced to take the lead.

‘Amanda, where are you going?’ I yelled out.

She dived on top of me, slamming her hand over my mouth. ‘All right, all right,’ she said, freezing and tilting her head to the side to gauge if my loud question had caused any movement from upstairs; there was nothing. She blew out a breath before glancing down at my wide-eyed stare and flared nostrils. Her look was chilling and I wondered if she was going to lash out at me, smother me with my own pillow.

Instead, she pushed off me. ‘Get dressed,’ she bit out.

And even though she could be utterly terrifying, I couldn’t have leapt out of bed quick enough.

•

‘Where are we going?’ I puffed, trying desperately to keep up with Amanda’s long-legged steps. She was so furious I half expected her to start breathing fire.

My question was met with silence; it was clear that my sole mission tonight was just to keep up and shut up. We were nearing the end of our street, leaving suburbia behind as we stepped off the bitumen road and made our way across a walking path and onto the sloping grass. My heart pounded, the wind whipping my hair into my eyes as we stepped over the pine-posted barrier and down through the darkness, our way lit by the dotted lamps leading down to the beach below.

When I first arrived, I had wanted a taste of everything Paradise City had to offer. I wanted to blend in with the crowd and inhabit the true essence of living here. So far I had experienced cover stories of deceit, note forgery, lunchtime detentions, and now I was sneaking out on a school night. I could have squealed with delight, although Amanda probably would have killed me if I so much as made a peep. My first few weeks and I had already experienced so many firsts; my stomach flipped at the thought of experiencing so many more. For my parents it was about me assimilating into the education system in preparation for Year Twelve; for me it was so much more than that.

As the path finally flattened out and our feet began to sink into the sand I saw a group of shady figures up ahead, some standing, some sitting. I could hear their laughter echo into the night. The sky was dotted with sparkly pinholes, the wind warm and whipping against my skin. My eyes flicked briefly from the group ahead, to momentarily marvel at the surging ocean that roared over the sand, so loud, so incredibly intimidating in the night.

‘Speak of the devil!’ a voice cried out.

‘And what’s this, the devil has an assistant?’ said another.

‘Piss off.’ Amanda shoved at the boy with woolly blond hair, snatching the beer out of his hand and sculling it down.

‘Woo, chug-a-lug, Burnsy,’ pierced Boon’s voice.

‘Yeah, baby.’

The chorus of wolf whistles only urged her on to finish the can, finally coming up for air, and with a wince crushing it and chucking it back to its owner.

I looked away, rolling my eyes, and in the process locked onto a familiar set across the group. I stilled, my heart stalling as Ballantine stood watching on, his hands in his pockets, the light of the moon bathing him in a muted white glow.

His eyes slowly broke from my gaze before he turned towards his mates sitting in the sand. ‘Let’s go.’

Any moment of exhilaration I felt was now replaced with bitter disappointment as I watched him walk away. Amanda was busy swearing and trying to big-note herself to those that remained and I wanted to scream at her, to kick and shout and ask why we weren’t following the others that disappeared into the night, along with any hope I had of hanging out with Ballantine. It wasn’t lost on me that the only actual interaction we’d had thus far was:

‘You’re in my seat.’

‘What’s your name?’

‘Can I borrow a pen?’

They were probably the most memorable of our deep and meaningful exchanges. It was then I wondered what had me so desperate to be around him. What was it about
him
, more than anyone else, that intrigued me? He was just one boy. One boy who would never be interested in someone like me.

I knew there was no chance that Amanda would make a move to follow when Boon was left behind. I wondered where Ballantine was going: further along the beach, perhaps? Would it be weird to follow? Or was my fate to be near Amanda, watching on as she took another beer from the boys’ stash. I stood to the side, my expression thick with disapproval as I witnessed Amanda become a massive try-hard in front of the boys. If I thought the Amanda I lived with was a stranger, then this socialite Amanda was even weirder.

Leaving the huddle of the group I stepped my way towards the frothy edge of the ocean’s line, grateful that the wind was blowing my hair back over my shoulders as I faced the expansive spread of water that seemed to go on forever. Laughter and jeers sounded behind, probably another sculling competition with a few obscenities flung around as terms of endearment. I recognised the two other Kirkland boys from school. Amanda seemed to be showing off deliberately for Boon or maybe this was just her being her obnoxious self. Whatever it was, it bothered me. Bothered me because, well, I wasn’t sure what I expected to find as I climbed out the window, but standing down at the beach drinking wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. And then I felt foolish; was I such a prude? Was I that much of a dork that I was shocked this was happening on a school night? Didn’t I want to infiltrate, to blend in? And just as I was about to psyche myself up to return to the group, to make an effort, I felt the presence of someone beside me.

‘Gemma told us you thought you were breaking into the common room.’

I spun around, the wind catching my hair and snapping it into my eyes. I pulled it away to see Boon standing next to me, hands in his pockets, looking out to the great nothing.

‘And then I wondered, why would the new girl be so desperate to see hideous wallpaper?’ His lips pressed into a cheeky grin as he eyed me side on. It was a look that said that he actually knew a secret and was waiting for me to confess all, so I did.

‘I was trying to get your football back,’ I said.

So when Boon said ‘I know’, it was my turn to offer a cheeky side-glance.

‘How?’

Boon shrugged. ‘Laura keeps her diary in the worst hiding place known to man.’

My mouth gaped. ‘You read Laura’s diary?’

‘You’ll be pleased to know she feels really shitty about putting the idea into your head.’

‘I’m not pleased, not pleased at all. Stop reading her diary.’

‘It’s usually filled with bat-shit boring stuff. What mundane crap goes on in home ec, what new dress she wants to wear to the social, her vomit-inducing, undying love for Ballantine,’ he said, shuddering at the last word.

My head snapped up. ‘Undying love for Ballantine?’ I repeated, mostly to myself.

‘Of course, if you repeat any of this I will just deny it.’

I blinked, troubled by information overload. And definitely not the information I had wanted to know. I took a deep breath, grateful that I’d never confessed my lustful thoughts about Ballantine; now I knew this was a definite no go.

‘Well, what are you doing reading it, anyway?’ I asked.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ he said, moving to circle around me, causing my head to crane to watch his movements until he walked in front of me. ‘Thought there might have been some interesting information about the new girl.’

Boon’s eyes locked onto mine; the seriousness of his gaze caused my heart to skip a beat, but not in the way that it did with Ballantine. This was a ‘holy shit I’m in deep trouble’ feeling.

I laughed, attempting to lighten the mood. ‘What could you possibly want to know?’

Stupid! I was so bloody stupid. Way to walk into a spider web, genius.

Boon smiled, stepping forward, so close I wanted to take a step back. My heart was pounding, worried about where this was headed and the look he was giving me.
Oh God, was Amanda seeing this?
Was she watching her crush step close to me? Could she see him staring at me? My breaths were shallow; I glanced down at my feet, breaking eye contact from Boon, but it didn’t stop him from reaching out and tucking a wayward strand of hair behind my ear, instantly causing my eyes to widen with the unexpectedness of it.

‘Do you have a boyfriend, Lexie Atkinson? Or is there a broken heart somewhere in the wastelands of Oz?’

His voice was low, hypnotic, and had it been under any other circumstances – Amanda not being madly in love with him and my own thoughts not being elsewhere – I could surely have appreciated how gorgeous Boon was, especially this close. He wasn’t much taller than me, but he had sparkling blue eyes and a cheeky, sexy smile – perfect and starkly white against his dark skin. Always full of yap, and the regular class clown, so to see him looking at me with serious, questioning eyes made my insides churn in panic. None more so than when his thumb brushed slowly against my bottom lip.

Oh God, was he going to kiss me? Right here, in front of all these people from school, in front of Amanda? Laura’s brother, Ballantine’s best friend? My heart was racing, the beats drowning out the roar of the ocean. I had to look for an exit, a clear-cut exit to shut down the look in his eyes, to stop this from happening. Why was Boon trying to kiss me? Me? Did I want Boon to kiss me? Shit, this was so confusing. And just as Boon worked on cupping the back of my neck and went to close the distance . . .

‘Amanda likes you!’ I blurted out.

Boon froze, his brows lowered in confusion.

‘What?’

‘Amanda. She’s crazy about you,’ I said quickly.

Oh God, I was a dead girl.

Boon’s hand dropped back to his side, he even stepped away a little. ‘Amanda? As in Amanda, Amanda?’ he asked, looking even more perplexed. ‘Your cousin Amanda?’

I nodded. Watching as his troubled eyes flicked over my shoulder, back to the group.

In Boon’s moment of shock I took the opportunity to break away, but not before leaning in with some parting advice that I whispered into his ear: ‘Of course, if you repeat any of this I will just deny it.’ I patted him on the shoulder and made my way back to the group, back to face the music.

Chapter Seventeen

‘What do you mean, she’s gone?’

When I returned to the others I half expected to be met with a death stare from Amanda. For her to come charging at me with an Amazonian war cry and tackle me to the ground, trying to gouge my eyes out. I even had visions of our reunion turning into a Michael Jackson video clip minus the switchblades and eighties-style choreography. So when I came back to find Amanda had left, actually left me behind, I didn’t know what to think. Had she seen Boon and me? I glanced back to Boon. His silhouette was barely visible until he neared what was left of the group. I doubt she would have been able to see clearly enough to know if anything had happened.

‘Where is everyone?’ Boon directed his question to a couple from school who were obviously not very impressed with us interrupting their private make-out session. The girl with a disturbing amount of regrowth rolled her eyes.

‘Aren’t you supposed to be heading to the Wipe Out Bar?’

‘That’s where Ballantine was headed,’ said the boy.

My interest piqued at the sound of Ballantine’s name. I glanced left to see my reaction had not gone unnoticed by Boon, who was staring at me with interest.

Shit-shit-shit. Subtle as a sledgehammer, Lexie.

I cleared my throat, looking away and adopting my best casual, whatever, who cares attitude.

‘It’ll be shut by now,’ said Boon, slowly tearing his gaze from me back to the couple.

‘But Dean’s pretty cool, yeah? He’ll let you stay on, won’t he?’ said the boy, who was trying his best to move us on.

‘That all depends what mood he’s in and I don’t intend to traipse over to the other side of the city to find out.’ Boon sounded annoyed. ‘Come on, Lexie, I’ll take you home,’ he said, tilting his head and walking off in the same direction Ballantine had earlier.

The couple sitting on the sand just stared at me, and it took me a moment to gather my thoughts before jogging after Boon, who was marching a quick, determined line down the beach.

‘Boon, wait.’

He didn’t.

Instead, I had to try to dig my heels into the collapsing sand, wondering how they managed it on
Baywatch
. Maybe the scenes weren’t in slow motion at all, maybe that was just them really running; it was near on impossible. I was such a weakling. It wasn’t until we hit the base of a wide concrete staircase that led up from the beach to higher ground that I ignored the burn in my legs and skipped every second step to gain some ground, managing to beat Boon to the top so I could stand in front of him, blocking his way.

‘Home?’ I breathed out heavily, leaning over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. ‘Really?’

Boon, whose breathing wasn’t even uneven, just looked like he had been for a stroll in the park as he folded his arms over his chest, eyes roaming over me as if I was the most pitiful thing he had stumbled upon.

I swallowed, repeating myself. ‘You’re really going to take me home?’

‘Well, that all depends; your place or mine?’ he said, flashing a boyish grin.

I rolled my eyes. ‘Shouldn’t we be looking for the others? What’s the Wipe Out Bar?’

And more importantly, how do we get there?

I followed Boon, stepping over the pine barrier that worked as a divider from the grass to bitumen and into a narrow stretch of concrete car park with only a few lonely cars up ahead. Under a row of streetlights, Boon delved into the pocket of his shorts, pulling out a set of keys as he closed in on an older model Holden ute, old as in my grandpa’s era. It was shiny and well maintained, a little bit funky even, just like my mum’s knee-high boots and flared jeans were when they came back into fashion. But it wasn’t the immaculate baby blue paintwork or the nostalgia that had me surprised as I came to a standstill beside the passenger door.

‘You drive?’

Boon stilled, my question appearing to confuse him somewhat. ‘I’m eighteen,’ he said, almost puffing his chest out in challenge.

Oh, yeah, I kept forgetting I was a year below everyone. Still, a smile spread across my lips.

‘So cool,’ I said, mainly to myself.

‘Hop in and I’ll take you home,’ Boon said, unlocking his door and sliding behind the wheel. He leant over and pushed the passenger door open. I didn’t move.

‘Umm, you do realise I can pretty much see my house from here. It’s literally just over there.’

Okay, so a slight exaggeration but it was still really close, too close to warrant a lift.

‘Get in and I’ll take you to the Wipe Out Bar.’

My head quickly jerked up. ‘Really?’

Boon’s answer was to turn on the ignition and fire up the car. I as good as jumped into the passenger seat, fear coursing through my veins at the thought of being left behind. I had already been ditched once tonight; well, twice if you included Ballantine. I eagerly clicked my seatbelt into place, readying myself to be taken to where the others had headed. This was more like it. This was how I’d hoped the night would end, a local hotspot with the surfer boys, an insight into their world away from school rules.

Boon flicked the lights on full beam, highlighting the navy sedan in front of us and the couple that were pashing in it, only breaking apart in agitated, squinted stares towards the beams.

I blanched, looking away, embarrassed.

Boon laughed, taking in my unease. ‘You sure you don’t want to stay here, this is where all the action is,’ he said, taunting me.

‘I’m sure.’

He shrugged. ‘Whatever.’

He backed up a little, changing gears and spinning the wheel expertly with one hand. He plunged his foot on the accelerator, which had my body whipping back in my seat, thudding my head and causing my heart to jump at the unexpectedness of it. The V8 of Boon’s engine thrummed in the night as he steered around the corner, speeding up the hill. I was smiling so big, so goofy, thinking that what my aunt and uncle didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. The sound of this loud, thumping ute would probably have them turning in their beds as the noise disturbed their sleep. Little would they know that I was a part of the crime. I was jolted out of my smug thoughts when Boon stepped on the brakes and brought the car to a stop. Outside the front of my house? My head snapped from the shadowy two-storey building to Boon, my eyes alight with confusion and then betrayal, taking in his cheeky smirk.

‘What are you doing? I thought we were going to the Wipe Out Bar?’

Boon scoffed. ‘I’m not going there.’

‘But those two said it would be fine, that Dean would –’

‘Dean Saville!’ Boon burst out laughing. ‘Dean is likely to be waiting for me with a shotgun if I rock up at this time on a school night. Dylan and Morgan don’t know what they’re talking about.’

Dylan and Morgan? Their names sounded like they were characters on
Beverly Hills 90210
. And whoever this Dean Saville bloke was I was starting to get really pissed off with him, but not as pissed off as I was with the traitorous Boon, who yawned and stretched in front of me.

He gripped the steering wheel, looking me over with interest. ‘The party doesn’t have to be over, new girl.’

‘Pfft. In your dreams.’ I opened the car door, slamming it in anger before wincing at what a stupid idea that was. My eyes flicked up to the unlit second storey, waiting for the lights to turn on and for Uncle Peter to come charging out with a shotgun, in his undies. But there was no sign of life and I breathed a sigh of relief before turning to give Boon one last death stare. I made to storm my way back in through my bedroom window.

‘Hey, Lexie.’ Boon was leaning over the passenger seat, motioning me to come back. Irritated, I stepped closer, leaning down to the opened window.

‘Shhh, you’re going to wake the entire neighbourhood.’

‘Shit. Sorry,’ Boon winced, quickly turning off his engine.

I tapped my foot impatiently, thinking maybe he felt bad and would take me to the Wipe Out Bar after all.

Boon shifted in his seat, picking at the seam on his leather steering wheel. He went all quiet and thoughtful like a little boy.

I sighed in impatience. ‘What, Boon?’

‘So . . . like . . . what has Amanda exactly said about me?’

I laughed. Was he for real?

‘What?’ he said defensively, straightening in his seat. ‘What’s so funny?’

I mock yawned. ‘Oh, Boon, it’s far too late to be chitchatting. It’s a school night, remember?’ I folded my arms, lifting one brow as if to say:

Lexie – 1, Boon – 0

That would teach him for bringing me home.

I waited for his response, for a counter offer to get back into the car and he would take me wherever I wanted to go if I would spill about Amanda. Not that I knew anything other than second-hand information from Laura.

He nodded as if accepting his fate. ‘Fair enough.’ He started up his car again; the roars of the engine so painfully loud.

‘It’s a shame, though,’ Boon said, causing me to look back at him.

‘Oh, yeah, and why’s that?’

Boon smiled so wide I thought I might be blinded by it. ‘Because I thought you might like to know what a certain mate of mine thinks about you.’

I paused. My world dropping away, nothing audible, nothing real to me other than the erratic beats of my heart.

‘What mate?’ I asked, my eyes wide as I failed to play it cool, to keep myself from wanting to fling my body across the car bonnet and beg for more information.

Boon stretched, yawning and then looked at the dashboard clock. ‘Oh, is that the time?’ He feigned surprise. Every action was so overacted, you could tell he was completely loving this.

‘Boon.’ I said his name as if it was a warning. A warning to not do this, to not drive away and leave me hanging.

But Boon pulled into gear and threw me a winning smile. ‘Better get to bed, Lexie. It’s a school night, remember?’ he said in a chastising tone, before giving me a cheeky wink and speeding off down the street sounding a series of ear-piercing honks that had me cursing him and scurrying back to the house before a Mexican wave of outdoor lights flicked on.

My heart was thumping, my breath short and shallow, as I quickly made my way around the side of the house back to the bedroom window. Fast and silent was not easy and with each step I cursed Boon. Cursed his entrapment on bringing me home, cursed his sexual innuendo, cursed his infuriatingly loud car, and cursed how much glee he showed as he got the upper hand.

What a certain mate of mine thinks about you.

The sentence rolled over and over again in my head on a continual loop as I slid the bedroom window across and hitched myself onto the sill, the aluminium of the frame digging into my hip bones. I let gravity pull me forward, my squeal luckily muffled by my mattress. I flopped onto my bed. Home free, out of breath, and my thoughts blazing a trail through my mind as I dared to wonder.

Which mate?